Man Kills Himself After Murdering Own Mother

A 28-year-year man identified as Ekene Ezeogo on Monday allegedly committed suicide, three days after beating his mother to death in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

The incident occurred at the residence of the deceased at No. 24, Agbaja Street in Abakaliki.

Our correspondent learnt that after Ekene had allegedly beaten his mother to death last Friday, he drove his motorcycle to the Central Police Station, Abakaliki, where he reported the matter.

The deceased had reportedly beaten his mother, identified only as Prophetess Mary, to death after she intervened in a fight that erupted between him and his younger sister.

It was gathered that Ekene fled the station upon realising that the police would detain him.

He was said to have later drank rat poison in a place where he went to hid himself to avoid being detained by the police.

Confirming the incident, the elder brother of the suicide, Mr. Chidi Ezeugo, explained that Ekene was rushed to the emergency unit of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, where he eventually died.

“When we got to the hospital, he was vomiting; I asked him whether he drank anything, and he said it was rat poison and added that he was scared of what people would say, which was what made him to drink the rat poison,” Ezeugo said.

Corroborating the account, one of the tenants in the area,  Chinedu Sunday, said immediately they were informed of Ekene’s health condition, they contacted the police, who asked the family to rush Ekene to the hospital.

“When we rushed him to the hospital, he started vomiting and all efforts made by the medical personnel to revive him proved abortive. He died in the process,” Sunday said.

Reacting to the incident, a stepbrother of the deceased, who identified himself only as Onyema, regretted that the incident had dragged the image of the family in the mud, emphasising that he never imagined that the deceased could take his own life at a time when efforts were being made to resolve the crisis in the family.

Though the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, Jude Madu, had yet to react to the incident as of the time of filing this report, it was gathered that an autopsy would be conducted on the corpse of the deceased in due course.